anderson



W. P. ANDERSON, N. C. CLARKE AND J. F. WHITELAW.

ARTIFICIAL ARM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY2I.1920.

Reisued Aug. 31,1920. 7 14,939.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. P. ANDERSON, N. C. CLARKE AND J. F. WHITELAW.

ARTIFICIAL ARM. APPLICATION} FILED MAY 21, 1920.

Rissued Aug. 31, 1920.

W.- P. ANDERSON, N. C. CLARKE AND J. F. WHITELAW. ARTIVFICIAL ARM.

APPLICATION man MAY 21. 1920.

Reissued Aug- 31, 1920. 1 4: ,939.

5 SHEETSSHEET 3.

W. P. ANDERSON, N. C. CLARKE AND J. F. WHITELAW.

ARTIFICIAL A RM. APPLICATION FILED MAYZI. 1920.

I Reissued Aug. 31, 1920.

W. P. ANDERSON, N. C. CLARKE AND .I. F. WHITELAW. ARTIFICIAL ARM.

APPLICATIUN FILED MAY 21, I920. Reissued Aug.'31, 1920. 14, 939.

5 SHEETSSHEET 5.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM PURVES ANDERSON AND No MANcARLYLEcLAR'KE, or BIRMINGHAM,-

AND JOHN 'rALcoNER WHITELAW, or nnDINeToN; nNGLAND.

ARTIFICIAL ARM.

Original-No. 1,272,179, dated July 9, 1918, Serial No.

filed May 21, 1920.

clear, and exact description of the same.

Our invention comprises;improvementsin' artificial arms or substitutesfor arms.

The first object of the present invention is the provision of an improved arm which is particularlyadapted for use for rough work for which reason it is known as a workers. arm, such arm preferably including a detachable'hook which may be interchanged with a forearm, the socket for receiving the stump of the armbeing of improved construction and readily adjustable to suit the stumps of various sizes.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved controlling mechanism which is so arranged that the-raising of the upper arm will automatically cause the forearm to rise above the elbow.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved supporting mecha nism at the shoulder for cases in'which the .amputation is at ornear the shoulder joint, 2'. 6., in which the joint, isdisarticulated or an insuflicient length of stump is left to raise the artificial arm, and in accordance with" this part of the invention we provide an improved hinge and shoulder cap." j

A further object of the invention is to so support the arm at the shoulder that it is ,free'to swing through a limited angle so as,

to give a more natural appearance when thewearer is walking; while still another object is to so control the armthat the tensioning of a single cable'connected both to the forearm and upper arm will cause. the upper arm to first riseto a limited extent, while a further tensioning will raise the forearm. i

These objects are obtained in the manner hereinafter explained. i

Referring to the drawings:

.Figure' 1- illustrates a simple form of Specification of Reissued Letters Patent. Reissued Aug; 31 192() 172,041, filed May 31, 1917. Application for reissue Serial No. 383,285.

workers arm according to this invention oomprlsing a socket of lmproved construc= tion and a detachable hook.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the same at A-B in Fig. 1. I

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of skeleton framework detached from the socket.

F ig. 4 illustrates the hook removed. I Fig. 5 1s a simllar'view to Fig. 1, showing a modified construction.

Fig, 6 illustrates a complete arm. havingv a socket constructed in similar'imanner, but

also provided with a detachable forearm andthe metal improved controlling mechanism.

.Fig. 7 is a view of the forearm detached.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the device as illustrated in Fig. 7, but showing the look- .-ing mechanism for securing the arm in the various positions to which it may have been raised. I Fig.v 9 is still another section along Fig. 7, but showing the parts in greater detail. Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views of, a controlling crank arm.

Fig. 12 illustrates an arm in position mounted by improved mechanism such as is required for a disarticulatedshoulder joint.

Fig. 13'discloses a shoulder connection, to-

gether with the operating cord.

Fig. 14 shows a shoulder cap. I Fig. 15 is a view showing the forearm in locked position. Fig. 16 is a-similar view forearm in unlocked or released position.

I Fig. 17 is a view showing the forearm raised while the locking is still released.

Fig. 18 is a similar view but with the fore arm locked. t

Fig. 19 is a detail of the locking bolt for the forearm.

I In constructing a workerls arm according to this invention as shown in the accompanying drawings in Figs. 1-4. a leather socket portion 1 is provided. blocked to receive the stump of the arm but having two overlapping edges 2, 2 so as to'p'ermit circumferential adjustment of the socket to enable it to be secured around the stump.

Straps and buckles 3 are also provided for securing the socket in its adjusted position.

The leather socket is disposed within a skeleton metal framework 4 whichconsists but showing the i of four members which are disposedlongi.

I [portion atthe. end which receives the tudinally along the socket and riveted there I to. This.skeleton-frameworkhas a socket screwed extremity of the hook 6 securedin I positionby the wing nut 7.

An arm or arm substitute as described can readily be securedupon the stump of the upper arm in cases ofamputation ator above the elbow, and'it provides an BX- tremely strong arm for the performance of rough work. The hook may be readily detached and othertools-substituted therefor; The 'appliancemayalso be used for: ampu tations below the 'elbow; in which case it issecured to the stump'of the forearm and a correspondingly shortened hook employed.

In Fig: 5 a modified constructionis shown in which the hook is adapted to bev secured in the extremity of a tube '8.

In theconstruction shown in' Figs. 611,

7 the same form of 'socket is employed, but the I 7 any position to which it may have been an arm has a complete forearm "10 which carries a hand 11, this forearm having a screwed"member-12- which isadapted to screw into the socket 5 and to be interchangeable with the'h'ook- 6 thereby converting the workersarm into one of a more natural appearance without necessitating the detachment of the socket from the stump and being intended for wear when appearance ratherth'an capacit for rough work'is desired. The forearm is provided with a pair-of longitudinally disposed metal strips 13 which carry afpivoted bar i lprovided with'a locking nut 15 and passingthrough a tubular member 16 which carries the. aforementioned "projection 12., the tightening of the'nut 15 serving to retain the forearm in gularly adjusted. The tubularmember 16 carries a flange 17 having a-notch' 18' which '1 engages with a peg 19 on one of'the members'13 so'asto limit the angular m'ovement about the elbow joint.

In conjunction with this forearm we employ improved] controlling mechanism in eluding a cable 20 secured to a crank-arm 21 which passes through to the interior of'the arm and carries a disk 22 which is connected tomatic'ally locking the arm-in its adjusted position, whilethe initial tensioning of the cable serves to release this-locking device.

, The plunger 23 is normally held in engage ment with oneof the holes Ql bya spring 26.

\Vhil' the initial tensioning of the cable releases "the locking device, a further tensioningjwill causethe forearm to automati-f; I callyfrise, so-that the one control releases the lock and raises the arm, which isa greatad:-

' vantage compared with the ordinary prac tice wherein two separate controls are-re-r quired'.

Thefour stages in the movement of the forearm and locking means vareshown in Figs. 1518;. -;.In.-Fig-. 15 the. forearm is shown in its fully extended position the locking.;bolt being in its engaged position and the cable slack. hen the cable is tensioned (.F-ig. v16),.the disk 29; is rotated and the locking bolt withdrawn. The disk has a peripheral recess 48in which: isfilocated a-peg 49 secured to the forearm; the amount of relative movement between the disk and forearm being limited by thelength ofthei recess which also determines the extentto which theloc-king bolt maybe withdrawn. As"-seenin-Fi g: 16 the disk hasreaehed the limit of its angular movement and the extremity-of the recess is adjacentthe peg. 1k further pull on the cable'will =thu'soperate to lift the forearm about its pivot to aposi tion as -show-n inFigJl'T, the weight of the forearmoffering a: greater resistance'to the cable than the spring '26, so that there is no tendencyt'o -lift until i the locking-bolt is fully retractedi If-"the tension on the cable is quickly and completely released the spring will quickly advance the locking bolt into engagement with one'of'the holes '24 as seen in Fig. 18; thespringioperatingbeforethe forearm can :fall'by gravity. If :the. locking:

bolt isnot opposite to one of the holes 24 when thetension is relaxed, thefiforearm will" fall u'ntilengagement with thetnextzlower hole takes place. To lower the forearm ithe. cable is tensioned and the bolt% retract-edv (Fig. 17) the:tensionis then partlyrelaxed allowing the forearm to falhabut suiiicient arm can be freely raised-orloweredi'irre spective of the-loekingdevice.

The cable is-i'llustr'ated as being in the form of a Bowden wire,.but this is not: necessary fori a simple cable may be-sub stitute'd if-so' desired. The inner member 20-of the cablesis. connected "to the. arm 21 by a' nipple 31 and a pivoted' ring having "a gap 33 sothatthis inner I member 20 may bereadily disengaged'from the-ring and arm 21' ifsddesired as-whenit is required to detach thecforearm and} substitute the hook. *F or" this; purpose, 'theenipple,

which is soldered to the end-of1 the cable 20 in: the" usual way, iswithdrawn end-wise clear of the ring and thecable detached by a sidewise movement. The end of the-outermember- 35 ofthe-Bowden mechanism fits within a member 36 pivoted upon-the-upper arm socket, this member; 36 having a longitudinal slot-v so that-=- by withdrawing the member 35'clear of the member 36thecable, 20' may then be detached from connection with the upper arm,so that the upper arm socket may be employed with a hook and without any controlling mecha- "nism. 4

3 In igs..1214 a manner of mounting is shown" which is adapted for use in cases wheretheshoulder joint-"has been disarticulated or whereth'e length of the stump left is insufficient to carrythe'arm. In this construction a shoulder pad 41, which may be conveniently made of leather: blocked to fit the shoulder is provided and carries a metal hinge member 42 to which is, pivotally se-' ber 42.-

The controlling mechanism is of similar form to that described in detail with refer ence to the-previous constructiom but as will be seen'from an inspection of Fig. 12, the points at which the controlling cable is connected to the shoulder pad, upper arm and forearm are such that the initial tensioning of the cable will serve to first raise the upper arm until the pin reaches the end of the annular slot, while a further tensioning will cause the forearm to rise. Thus the one cable will release the lock, raise the upper arm to a limited angle and finally fully raise the forearm. By this means the arm is raised with a much more natural appearance than when the forearm alone is raised. 1

Having thus described our invention, what'we claim is v 1. In an artificial arm, the combination of an upper arm socket, a forearm pivoted thereto, a sliding bolt for locking said forearm in its adjusted position relatively to j the socket, a crank onthe forearm control- 'nected to said ling said sliding bolt and having a limited movement only, and a controlling cable cone crank for the purpose specified. I

2. In an artificial arm, thecombination of an upper arm socket, a forearm pivoted thereto, a sliding bolt for locking said'forearm in its adjusted position relatively" to the socket, a crank on the forearm control-' ling said sliding bolt and having a limited movement only, a controlling cablejconnect ed to said crank, and means for locking said bolt at will in its inoperative position, substantially as described.

3'. Injanartificial arm in combination, a forearm, an upper armsocket, an elbow joint comprising a tubular member, aprojection on 'said tubular member whereby it may be. connected with said socket, a pivot bar within said "tubular member, and a nut onsaid pivot bar. i

4. In an artificial'a'rm' in combination, a

forearm," an .upperf arm'socket, an elbow joint comprising a tubular member disp'osed across the forearm, a projection on said tubular member whereby it may be connected with said socket, a pivot bar within said tubular -member, a nut on said pivot bar, and means whereby the angular movement of the forearm with respectto the socket is restricted.

5. In an artificial arm in combination, a forearm, an upper arm socket, an elbow joint comprising a tubular member disposed across the forearm, a projection on said tubular member whereby it may be connected withsaid socket, a pivot bar within said tubular member, a nut on said pivot bar, a

sector fixed to said tubular member having a series of holes therein, and a releasable plunger cooperatingwith said sector for temporarily fixing one arm member'with re-- spect to the other.

6. In an artificial arm, the combinationof an upper arm socket, a forearm pivoted thereto, a sliding bolt for locking said forearm in its adjusted position relatively to the socket, a disk on said forearm connected to said forearm and having a limited movement only relatively to the forearm, and a controlling cable connected to said disk.

7. In an artificial arm, the combination of an upper arm socket, a forearm pivoted thereto, a sliding bolt for locking said forearm in its adjusted position relatively to the socket, a controlling cable connected to said locking bolt, means for limiting the eX- tent to which said sliding bolt may be retracted, and a spring for advancing said sliding bolt into its locking position, said spring'ofi'ering aless resistance to the cable than is offered by the weight of the forearm whereby the initial tensioning of the cable will first withdraw the bolt, while a further tensioning will raise the forearm.

8.In an artificial arm the combination of an upper arm, a forearm pivoted'thereto;a locking device located. on the forearm and adapted to engage with the upper arm for the purpose of locking the upper armand forearm in various relative an ularly adjusted positions, a controlling cab le connected to said locking device and serving when tensioned to release same, and means for limiting the retractive movement of the locking device and for simultaneously therewith transmittingthe tension of the said I cable to-the then unlocked forearm whereby said forearm is moved angularly in relation I 51:10cking device: adapted tojlockzlthebforearm.

r: gorlth'empper arm',;a,ll idr -flthe purpose speci-.

9;: lmamzartificiavlzarm t-heacombinationxof amupper arm,- arrforeairm" pivotedthereto, a

.-:=1 and 1 upper am: in various angularly adjush edpositions, at pivoted 4member-rlocatedwon U th'e-.. f0marm andsconl lecteda-with said lockmg device; mlcontrolling :cable connected to .10csaidipivoted @membergandwmeanswfor ,ilimi v vvhnimrgaso ing; ,thm-mowement of pivot-ed 1 member in onerd lrectionwand for simultaneously there:

with; transmitting -;the- 1tension: {of the said Gable D ;th- ,'then unlockediforearm'whei eby v said vfqnearm:isqnoved angularly .in; relation tothe upper arm, all for the purpose'sp ecified. -i WILLIAM PURVES ANDERSQN.

mam]! GABLY-LEGDARKE.

. Y iJOHNJMLOONER.WHITELAW. 

